The Apple iPhone 5s leather case is a dirt magnet, tell us how you keep it clean!

Apple made a re-entry to the accessories market with the launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, one of which is the range of pretty awesome looking leather cases for the 5s. One problem – much less obvious if you got the black – is that leather attracts dirt. General dirt, grease, the stain from the inside of your jeans pocket, it's almost impossible to prevent.

Indeed, I picked up a (Product) RED leather case for my own iPhone 5s around 10 days ago, and it's already looking a little second hand. But, think about the leather seats inside a car. They get dirty, and a little tired, but they also get cared for, cleaned and treated to keep them looking their best and prolonging the usable life. The Apple iPhone 5s case isn't a cheap phone case, so it's not an unusual idea to apply the same tactics to caring for it, right?

So, if you've got any tips or tricks you've already tried to help keep your case looking its best, we want to hear from you. Personally, for light staining and general dirty marks, I find regular old baby wipes can be a useful thing to keep lying around. Especially if you've got a few leather products in your household.

So, jump into the comments below with your own experiences, tips and tricks. Or perhaps you're perfectly OK with the 'distressed' look achieved after many days in a jeans pocket? Or maybe you avoided the leather cases for this very reason? We'd love to hear from you!

That was the worse idea ever! Good way to try out any leather fast! Go to the car section and get leather cleaner and leather conditioner. Don't get the conviction type as it doesn't let the conditioner soak in as much for better protection against drying and protection against the elements. Caring for a leather case takes just minute and will last forever as long as you take the time to do so. Most heavy oils for conditioning will change the look and feel drastically, so stay away from oils if you don't want that kind of change.

That was the worse idea ever! Good way to try out any leather fast! Go to the car section and get leather cleaner and leather conditioner. Don't get the combination type as it doesn't let the conditioner soak in as much for better protection against drying and protection against the elements. Caring for a leather case takes just minute and will last forever as long as you take the time to do so. Most heavy oils for conditioning will change the look and feel drastically, so stay away from oils if you don't want that kind of change.

Put a couple coats of Kiwi neutral shoe polish on your case before you use it. After each coat, polish with a shoe brush. This will seal the leather and keep the dirt off. It will also be protected from liquids. I have the brown case and it didn't change color. Can't speak to the other colors. This has a further benefit of making the case less slippery.

This sounds like a great idea to keep the dirt off. This is the problem though, i may buy another and use this technique but what if it doesn't work... Are you SURE it works? I mean i don't want to waste ANOTHER £35

Sorry for my english. Do not buy such a case. I have a beige one. After six monthes I have the Known dirt problem, but the most serious is the loose of its original texture, mainly on the corners and borders, what makes it look much more dirty than it really is.

Which also gets just as dirty. I think it's pretty similar material, but the back of the phone and the phone itself for that matter will tend to be in dirtier places than the front of an iPad simply because of portability.

Got mine after an hour from posting, i should say its okay, i was previously applied zagg leather skin for my iphone and its peeled off so i try this leather case. The problem i got is the dirts show near camera hole, which i think it happens to all hard cases.

Good news is i tried putting it into my jeans pocket, thought the dirts will stick to the leather just like any other silicon case, but it didnt. I wouldnt say its a dirt magnet.

I was seriously considering this case but I read a lot of reviews about it getting dirty fast. I did some research on the type of leather the case has and this is what I found:

ANILINE leather’s are very porous and delicate and do not perform in everyday use as well as protected leather.

Being porous the ANILINE will absorb dirt, oils and grime and these will eventually block the pores of the hide and ruin the feel and finish. It is also susceptible to fading, even with indirect sunlight the colour can change dramatically.

The low durability factor means that basically it cannot be cleaned. It will also mark and stain rather easily.

I got this from a leather website. I have decided to go with a Sena case because they use premium leather with their cases and will last longer. Hope this helps.

There are a lot of automotive leather cleaner and sealers that are perfect for any leather case. Mothers Brand Cleaner and Condition or Turtlewax branded cleaner conditioner are two the come to mind and both are designed specifically for car seats that similar tend to get grubby really fast. Though I haven't thought about purchasing one of the cases to use on my iPhone 5 and kind of still like the 99 cents cover that I bought (even though I've bought expensive ones including a leather wallet style case I still go back to the cheapest of the cheap clear plastic cover) I just cannot bring myself to hide the phone away from view.

Though I have used the Mothers Conditioner on other leather products and been happy with the results.

I have had a red case for a week now, and even though we had one for our other (which got traded for a black for this reason), my red case looks better than new because I have applied a good leather conditioner that makes it feel (and smell) great. I got the conditioner at walmart in the shoe section and it says to apply it once every couple of weeks and I plan to do just that, so that it keeps looking new. Red was the only case I liked, and hope they come out with a navy blue case which would be amazing :)

Just remember that leather is basically skin so anything that would dry your skin out will do the same to leather. Avoid anything with silicon in it as it will dry leather out in no time. I use Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner on my car seats and on my case. After using any quality leather product cleaner/conditioner, your own skin should feel pretty good as well as you are basically cleaning and moisturizing.

Bought a Red one and looked awful after 4 weeks. Took it back to London store and they swapped it without even wanting a receipt. Before using the new on I gave it a few coats of Leather Protection Spray and still looks like new 2 weeks after. Will apply a new coat every few weeks.

I'm taking my red one back. Not even 4 days out of the package and has been in my pockets and a couple of clean desks. I'm not obsessive compulsive but owning this case will make me such person. Bareback anyone? Should my iphone just do the full Monty in style? The other pain about this case is of you need to get your phone out of it. I don't want to have to buy shoe polish for my phone case.

I had both the black and red leather ipad cases but ended up returning them for a back white carbon fiber type skin and the Apple Smart covers instead. Offers zero drop protection but really nice thin and light scratch protection. I'm just so much happier with this combination.

I bought the brown case and after about 3 days the case looked super bad all black sides so I took it to apple with the box and they gave me a new one. This time before I used the case I went to Walmart and purchased a can of "KIWI protect all" for about $7 and coated the case to where it was thick and smooth. I let it dry and then repeated the steps about 8 - 10 times. When the case gets scratches or dirty I simply coat it again with protect all and wipe it off.. let it dry and then coat it again for protection. Seems that the actual coating is the one that gets dirty and scratched so spaying it with protect all and cleaning it and then re coating it does the trick. I have had the case for about 3 weeks now and it is looking awesome. I can see the case aging now but the color is a good color like leather is supposed to look when aging.

Hope it helps guys and believe me best case by far. Just make sure to use protect all.

Are you SURE it works, as I said earlier in the comments, I want to use this method but don't know if it will work on my beige case. Also, which makes it even harder to decide if i should get a new one, i don't know how to apply the kiwi. Please reply, anyone...

In the past for cleaning the leather, I would just get a can of Pledge or the the Pledge Wet Wipes, as they have a line that is used to clean leather sofas, and it works great on my leather cases as well.

I didn't get the Apple leather case, but got a leather one customized here:

The whole point of a case is to provide protection for the phone from minor scratches, drops, bumps and keep the phone looking good; this is what the case is for so if you are now having to also worry about keeping a case looking clean/good then you have purchased a rubbish case and there are many out there including the expensive ones!
A good case should look good and be very low maintenance, if simply wiping/brushing it is not enough to keep it clean then it’s a fail, you should return it for a better one.